A Delhi Court gave 15 years jail term to a Delhi Police employee for raping and cheating a woman. (Thinkstock)
A Delhi Police employee has been jailed for 15 years for raping and cheating a woman by concealing his first marriage, by a court which said that sentence for "outrageous crimes like rape and bigamy" must be a deterrent for others.
"The crimes of rape and bigamy are the most-hated crimes in the society. Society wants and expects perpetrators of such crimes to be punished very sternly.... The punishment for these offences should be deterrent to the extent that no other member of society dares to engage in such crimes....," Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhatt said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs three lakh on convict Ravi Rathi, who had developed intimacy with the victim in a police training college whom he had met in 2009.
After two years of courtship, he secretly married the victim in October 2013. Later, it was found that Mr Rathi had already married another woman in May the same year he married the victim.
"The convict has not only ruined the entire life of the prosecutrix but also has deceived and cheated upon his first wife. He has played with the emotions and sentiments of the two women. He does not appear to have any concern and respect for women and the marriage vows," the court said.
It also said the convict seemed to be a "sex maniac" and did not deserve to be let off lightly.
"To him (convict) it appears that women are only objects for sex gratification and the marriage is a mere joke. He seems to be a sex maniac and does not deserve to be let off lightly. He deserves an exemplary sentence," the court said.
The court sentenced Mr Rathi to jail, while holding him guilty of the offences under sections 376 (rape), 495 (bigamy with concealment of former marriage from person with whom subsequent marriage is contracted), 417 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code.